Liquid-liquid phase transition in supercooled yttria-alumina

A C Barnes, L B Skinner, Philip S Salmon, A Bytchkov, I Pozdnyakova, T O Farmer, H E Fischer

OAI: oai:purehost.bath.ac.uk:publications/f97fe8d0-ec72-4d90-893d-389c09d4edf2 • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.225702

The structure and thermal characteristics of aerodynamically levitated samples of yttria-alumina in the liquid, supercooled liquid and solid phases were explored in an extensive series of high energy x-ray diffraction, small angle neutron scattering, and pyrometric cooling measurements. Particular focus was placed on the compound (Y2O3)(x)(Al2O3)(1-x) with x=0.2 for which a liquid-liquid phase transition at a temperature of 1788 K has recently been reported. No structural or thermal signature in support of this metastable phase transition could be found.